Galchenyuk’s NHL debut a family affair

Among the sellout crowd at the Bell Centre for the Canadiens’ season opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night was rookie Alex Galchenyuk’s father, mother and sister.

“He wasn’t freaking out nervous—he was excited nervous,” 25-year-old Anna said of her 18-year-old brother.

“You could see in his eyes he couldn’t wait to get out there.”

The excitement and joy of watching Galchenyuk make his NHL debut still lit up their faces on Monday as his mother and sister recounted the experience at a downtown Montreal hotel with The Gazette’s Brenda Branswell. (Alex Sr. was at the Bell Centre at the time watching the Canadiens practice.)

The Gazette’s Pat Hickey reports that you could almost hear the strains of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Getting to Know You in the background as Canadiens coach Michel Therrien explained his line juggling Monday in preparation for the Florida Panthers’ visit to the Bell Centre Tuesday night (7:30 p.m., RDS, TSN 690 Radio).

“I only started learning my team last week in training camp,” Therrien said. “We had no exhibition games and Saturday was the first time I saw them in competition. I’m learning about them and they’re learning about me.”

New Habs tough-guy Brandon Prust has been labelled the “new sheriff in town” and wasted no time dropping the gloves seven minutes into the season opener against Maple Leafs enforcer Mike Brown.

The 28-year-old Canadiens winger scored the free-swinging decision, coming on just his second shift with the Habs, when he yanked the jersey over Brown’s head and the officials jumped in.

“The fight was half-decent,” Prust told The Gazette’s Dave Stubbs in self-critique, this not the first time he’s thrown down with Brown. “He’s a tough kid and we battled back and forth. The refs jumped in kind of early, I would have liked it to be a little longer.”

The Gazette’s Brendan Kelly reports that the Canadiens are getting their very own reality series, a behind-the-scenes look at the team à la really cool HBO hockey documentary series 24/7. TV crews have already been following the players and coaches around and 24CH will have its premiere on RDS on Saturday, with the series airing in English on TSN2.

RDS announced that Saturday’s Habs-Leafs game was watched by 1,286,000 people on the French-language network. More than 3.3 million viewers watched the game on CBC, making it the most-watched regular season Prime East game ever on CBC.

The Panthers and Alex Kovalev, who visit the Bell Centre Tuesday night, were shut out 4-0 by the Ottawa Senators on Monday.

Kovalev told the Ottawa Citizen’s Ken Warren that he’s happy to be back in the NHL and blamed his problems when he was with the Senators on coach Cory Clouston. Read more by clicking here.

And finally, happy birthday to Elmer Lach, the oldest living former Hab, who turns 95 on Tuesday, and to Serge Savard, who turns 67.

Doesn’t help when injuries force him onto a wing with Gomez/Gionta too.

Over the last three years the prevailing theory seemed to be that Gomez was a production killer for linemates, or at least that was the reason for Cammalleri. Hurt Cammalleri but not a reason for Eller’s results to suffer.

good day all wow i think the habs will do great tonight prust played with alot of energy if he keeps that up he would be one of the best players we sighned in a while eller sits in the box hmm i think there going to ruin this guy hes not getting a fair deal like maney other players he will go and come back to bite us in the but. gally showed he can hang with the big boys i like that he shoots the puck not playing with it and turning it over but like some of the others said be nice to keep him with the same line kaberle stinks hes gotta go plecks is a streaky player some times he shows up some times he dont he was asleep sat night cole had a bad game. I thought emilin played well but after all was onley the first game nowlets hope everyone found there legs and hands and we get a win

Keep reading Eller sits tonight. I am an Eller fan, but good move for the coach to bench someone early for lack of effort. It will ultimately be good for Eller and sends the right message to everyone else.

MT has made it pretty clear about 100 times that he is going to get more effort out of this team than we saw last year and that is not a bad thing at all.

For everyone bleeding for Lars Eller: I seem to recall a young centre from Kladno who got time on the wing, and then 3rd centre duties, who went on to excel among his teammates and became the team’s top centre. If Eller is to ever replace that fellow, he’s have to do it from line 3 as well. Let’s see if he does.

I’m smelling a blockbuster. Dunno why. Maybe ’cause there’s a new Sheriff in town, and everyone of them needs to shine their badge early on to make their mark, and there’s no better way for a GM to do so than to do something BIG.

I have to reply even thou the Hockey season has started . Your personal views on Morgan are one thing but to use another’s to take him down does nothing for your argument. I didn’t like Larry King much or Piers Morgan because they put on a lot of uninteresting people whom are not news worthy but in Piers defense HE HAS TAKING A STANCE on one of America’s biggest problems “300 MILLION GUNS”FLOATING AROUND AND a lot of dead Americans because of it. Good on him for trying to wake up stupid white people who are afraid of their own shadows! Watch out for the black boogieman,eh…………

Oh that that too-too sullied puck would go in,
slide and resolve itself in a goal;
Or that the ever-coaching had not fixed his canon ‘gainst my playing. Oh Marc! Geoff!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the linemates of this world!

Happy Birthday Mr. Lach. I remember caddying for you at the old Malborough and Cartierville Golf Clubs.
Also I beleivethat he is not only the oldest Canadien but the oldest NHL’er.
There was a story during the lockout about the lack of pension money to the former players of his era and it was noted that he was the oldest. 95 going on 75.

I feel it will take this few game season, for our Hab organization to move people in and out of the franchise, and get it together for the start of training camp in the fall.
New GM,
New coaches,
New systems,
New players,
I hope they use these games this half season wisely to prepare a good competitive product for next year.

As far as the PK situation is concerned. If he does not accept what the club is offering, he will be moved in short order’. A new GM will not be held hostage nor should he be.

We have decided to pick a game date for our 2013 weekend HIO Summit in Oct. or Nov. 2013. Please keep your cancelled tickets, it is the only way we can replace them with the new ones. Don’t lose them. All our money for the new tickets, is in our Summit account now.
For all other HIO members that want to get tickets for our Summit, please stay tuned over the months for instructions once we pick the Summit weekend game!
Ian

I have always felt that Therrien is first, foremost and forever a tool and I am a HUGE Eller fan, but I will not freak out over the expected benching tonight.

We are not privy to what the team’s expectations are for Eller but our purpose here is well intentioned speculation …

For me, expecting a huge offensive output in a five on five scenario (regardless of who he plays with) is counter productive. Eller’s best current role on the Habs (particularly at home when you can get the matchups) is to shutdown the other team’s top line, kill penalties and play more than 12 minutes a night.

DD and Plex are presumably playing as the “offensive” centres and I see no indication that Eller will be allowed to elbow them out. I hear the comment that he needs to step up and take the role but that is not realistic. A short season doesn’t allow the luxury of dumping the only line that worked last year and cutting the time of your highest paid most versatile (Plekanec) centre.

I will wait to see what the MT “systeme” is and what it means but long term I have my doubts that we are going to see anything other than a slow slog and the parcelling out of players that arrived under a different regime.

He has been given plenty of chances, by three different coaches, and the results (or lack thereof) have been the same, unfortunately.

How would it look to the rest of the team if you put someone between the best players simply because of who they were traded for? Things were bad enough having to play Gomer on the top lines to justify his contract…

Matty, my justification on the Dane (that was some good Shakespeare there before :-)) comes from the whole package of tools he has, what he has already done, the work he has put in and where I think he can get to.

I am not in the camp that “He was traded for Halak, he has to produce” … to me it is irrelevant.

In the lousy ice -20 weather of the outooor Calgary game, he was the only guy that actually tried and succeeded in throwing some hits.
As a rookie he went toe to toe against Chara in a push scrum and didn’t back down.

Slender as rookie, he worked hard in the weight room with Skillsie and has gotten larger to play the larger physical game.

After being benched last year with Subban against Chicago (because he wasn’t Jonathan Toews?) he took ir professionally and said he would do whatever it takes to help the team.

But if there is one weakenss in his game … he cannot play wing. He is too conditioned to play centre, to want to be in charge, make the plays and reads required at that position.

“RDS announced that Saturday’s Habs-Leafs game was watched by 1,286,000 people on the French-language network. More than 3.3 million viewers watched the game on CBC, making it the most-watched regular season Prime East game ever on CBC.”

In a 48 game “season” getting wins out of the gate is paramount. The bare minimum to start out ten games to be in the hunt is 6-3-1. If the Habs record after 10 is 3-6-1 it won’t matter when Subban signs. Of course 10 games does not make a season but 30 games in this shortened campaign certainly will. If after 30 games the Habs (don’t have at least 10 wins) are 9-18-3 kiss the play-offs good bye and embrace another excellent round of draft picks.

Hola Amigos! Bit of the “Whips and Jingles ” this morning. Yesterday started out fine,no booze for my therapy day and then it all fell apart in the evening. First Darcy Tucker at centre ice dropping the puck,then I see a Big Chipmunk behind the Blues bench, Then I see Two coaches behind the Ottawa Bench! Christ we won”t even talk about the nightmare I had last night.(There were midgets with knives chasing me through a mall)
Anyhow,no more therapy days for Frontenac. Saludos!

5 QUESTIONS
1. Did we deserve to lose Saturday’s game?
2. Was Kaberle the worst player on the ice? Even not counting his two (in a row) missed PP passes at the blue line? Or is he just my new whipping boy? (Really – I want to like the guy.)
3. Was Eller so bad?
4. Does PK deserve $5 million/year? More? Less?
5. As much as I look forward to seeing Gallagher out there with Chucky at center, I’d rather see Chucky on the Plek line again. Agree or disagree?
————————————-
Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!

1. Yep, indiscipline and too many no-shows. Deja vu all over again.
2. I thought Cole, Eller & Kaberle were equally useless. Kaberle / Gorges pairing was brutal.
3. He was invisible, like his linemates. Bourque played better once he was moved up a line.
4. That’d be fine with me. More would be pushing it for an RFA.
5. Hard not to be curious what he can do at centre, but so long as he gets proper minutes (12+)

I thought MaxPac was the best Hab not named Price, followed by Markov & Emelin.

1. Yes. If we can’t kill penalties, we don’t deserve to win. Granted the Pleks penalty was BS, but still.
2. No. He seemed quicker than last year, but did make a couple mistakes. Nobody stood out as horrible, but everyone seemed a little disorganized until the 3rd.
3. No, but it won’t kill him to sit so we can see Gallagher. Sit someone else? Makes no difference to me.
4. 5M is ok for Pleks.
5. Disagree. I think he needs a bigger centre, but maybe we’ll see him move around a little anyway.

Go Habs Go!!

“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock

1. Yes
2. No
3. No. If he sits, it’s just some line juggling while the kid is still with the big club.
4. Yes, more or less. Long term deal – more. Short term deal – less.
5. For tonight? Doesn’t matter. A little exposure at center is a good lesson. If he sticks after 5 games, then yes, I’d rather see him on the wing.

5. As much as I look forward to seeing Gallagher out there with Chucky at center, I’d rather see Chucky on the Plek line again. Agree or disagree?
Agree. Keep him at LW, let him have some consistency (say 3 games, 12-15minutes +PP, all at LW) Healthy scratch him so get the bird’s eye view for 1 or 2games, plunk him either back on LW or centre 4th line. LEAVE him all season.

Eller should be driving the 3rd line and producing chances. He did neither.
As to my so-called “hate.” I have nothing but indifference for an indifferent player. I don’t understand the love here for a serious under achiever, either.

So after one game, Galchenyuk is dropped to the third line and Eller is sent to the press box? I have no problem with an 18 year not being ready to play top six minutes. But he should to play the same position with the same line mates for a few games in order to get used to the NHL. I do not know what Eller did wrong, but I think he has more skill than players who are being dressed ahead of him.

In an 82 game season, a team needs 18 skaters per game for 82 games for a total of 1,476. Of those 1,476 skater-games that Montreal used last season, over 25% were contributed by players who did not make an opening night roster this season. That number may change if Gomez, Darche or Campoli sign or if Kostitsyn returns to the NHL. Conversely the number would have been even higher if Subban signed and Diaz returned to the minors.

Edit: I am rooting for Darche to get a contract with the Devils. Like many other fans, I was sad Montreal did not offer him a one way contract in the off season.

Man I will be angry if they screw up Eller, if for no other reason than the coach isn’t high on him. He scored 16 goals on a crap team with new line mates every night last year. And there were many more butts responsible for the loss Saturday, they could sit before Eller.

A couple of things:
1. Eller is the only logical forward to sit to make room for Gallagher, and his sitting doesn’t necessarily reflect his play on Saturday, but he was so invisible that I’d hardly notice him missing.

2. Eller will have been the only one responsible for being ‘screwed up’, should that happen. He needs to prove himself. All I’ve seen from him so far is suggestions that he can be good.

3. The ‘crap linemates’ argument is weak. A good player makes his linemates better. Look at the points that any player who plays with Plekanec gets.

umm no….are you implying draft position means you have to get to the show quicker or you are done? maybe you are jokng but that is a very strange way of looking at things….players are drafted on potentia…not timelines

Pleks season last year sucked because of his ever-shifting linemates, it’s certainly not a weak argument. Eller should be playing centre on the third line long before Prust plays there, there’s no comparison. He needs ice-time, not watching the game from the stands time.

1. BS. You want to make room for Gallagher and play Galchenyuk at centre? Fine, scratch Moen, Armstrong or White and move Eller to the wing. Even that would already be a mistake.

2. HE NEVER GETS A REAL CHANCE FFS.

3. I bet Desharnais would still have scored 50 points playing with Moen, Darche and Blunden all the time, right? For years we´ve been waiting for a big centre who can skate and has skill. Now we have one and treat him like crap. Great.

Exactly, Eller should be making his linemates better. Also, the 16 goals he scored were not that great if you break it down. He had 1 magical game where he scored 4 goals, and not to take away anything from that great game, but he only scored 12 goals in the remaining 78 games. I think people have too high expectations of Eller because he was traded for Halak, but to me he will not become a top 6 forward in MTL or anywhere else for that matter. I think he will be a depth player at best, but I really hope I am wrong on him cause I want the kid to succeed in MTL and become a top 6 forward.

I really think they could have chosen from a few players to sit to get Gallagher in there. They probably discussed it as a staff and opted for Eller. He’s not the first 23 year old player to be scratched. Hell, even the Rocket had to fight for his ice time.
As far as the Gorges/Bouillon on the PP, it would not surprise me if they saw things in practice, and Daigneaulty suggested they try it out. It’s not like the pp lit it up with anyone else on it.

This is fun, but people need to chill.

Go Habs Go!!

“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock

I seem to recall there was supposed to be a similar show that was planned for the 2008-09 Centennial season but is was being put on the shelf.
Now years later, they are bringing this idea back on board.
That’s all the team needs, more distractions.
Big Brother is watching!
Love to hear the excuses after the season is over when our team does not make the playoffs.
“Waaaaah! We were distracted by the cameras! Blame RDS, blame TSN!”
Welcome to North Hollywood in MOntreal!

Recent move from mtl to Ottawa…still cheering for the habs but..Was a little surprised to see Ottawa get rid of their bruisers after such a great season last year. Turns out they look even better now. Young, fast, big, tough…nothing not to like cept for their dipshit fans. Hope I don’t have to join ‘em but if Markov and Kaberle are anywhere near as bad as they looked game 1, i may just have to.

Markov was fine in game 1. 25 minutes, no blunders. He’ll be better than fine.
I’m in Ottawa too. I ge the feeling the sens success is all coaching. This guy is getting the most out of his players, and I still don’t see them going very far. Eventually the bubble will burst.
If it wasn’t for the coach, I’d hate the sens as much as the leafs.

Go Habs Go!!

“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock

only fun games to watch at Scotia if you can stomach the drive / parking / mile long walk to the building are habs / leafs..otherwise it’s a snoozefest. Nothing that a dozen brews won’t take care of mind you.

After Markov the second pointman on the pp probably would not be a favourite option for most teams…the second half of the pp will be even worse with the point options the Habs have…without PK the Habs pp will be one of the worst in the league

Eller was close to the worst forward Saturday in my opinion. But scratching him again is a risky thing to do. He needs confidence, not humiliation in my view. Humiliation only helped for a week last time.

I’ve watched that game three times now and Desharnais wasn’t pushed around like you suggest. Eller how ever made plays or a lack of plays that resulted in five scoring chances for the Leafs. And I’m not talking about decent shots, I mean point blank, in the slot between the dots.

I like Eller and think he has great upside, he had a bad game, simple as that.

Signs tells me it’s just a matter of time before he’s dealt. Logic says no team in MTLs position would be so dumb to deal a young big center who fits into your future core, but it’s MTL so really logic isn’t always considered.

Could be. That combined with wanting to give Galchenyuk a shot at center, who knows? Eller certainly wasn’t the most useless forward Saturday. Perhaps he wasn’t playing within the new system and his coach didn’t like it? I don’t care to be honest, it’s one game and he’ll be back soon enough.
I’m just excited to see Gallagher get a shot. He’s one skilled, firey little S.O.B.. The two rookies should bring lots of energy and speed tonight. Let’s get a frickin W against a tired team that got shut out yesterday (although they looked dangerous the whole 3rd period, Anderson was sharp).

It should not come as a surprise to anyone that’s been around here for a while that every move and action taken by the Habs is going to be analyzed, it’s what we do.
People need to enjoy a grain of salt, posts that say someone did a bad job in the first game are alright, players and coach take actions and make decisions in each game, it is fair to analyze and critic those actions and decisions.
But one must keep in mind that one game does not make a season and things can and hopefully will change.

Good post shiram. I’m taking the ridiculous posts a bit to heart.
It’s just what people do, even though they know they could not possibly do the job themselves. Those who can, coach. Those who can’t come here and bitch about it!
LOL

Go Habs Go!!

“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock

Couldn’t agree more. I find it very enjoyable to read post critiquing the club though. It’s one of the reasons I visit here so often. A passionate fan base for sure but also very hockey wise (except a few).
We’ll get a better read on this team in a few more games but after last season it’s difficult to be too optimistic.
———————————–

I don’t agree with that move and not sure where it came from. I wonder if he discussed it with the coaching staff or with the players in question at all.
I know Gorges said he loves the chance to help out offensively, but who wouldn’t say that?

Go Habs Go!!

“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock

Wouldn’t it be fair to say that all teams who changed head coaches over the summer have a bit more of a challenge ahead. Notice Calgary has not had a great start out of the gate as well with new Coach Hartley behind the bench.

For sure Burly. Any new coach has a disadvantage with no preseason and only a week camp. It is hard to implement any new systems. Thevteams that have been impressive are the ones where the core and coaches have been around for a bit.

As your friends from the south might say, probably so. The one argument I could make is it’s basically the same team we had last season so the players should at least be familiar with each other.
We all have our opinions and as Shirham so thoughtfully pointed out in his post above, a lot of opinions get voiced around here. That’s part of the culture of being a habs fan. That said, the quality of hockey these first few games has been way below NHL standards. I think we should wait a few games before we form solid opinions on teams. As examples, does anyone really think the Flyers, Ranger and Canucks are not good hockey teams?

If the third line tonight is Galchenyuk – Gallagher and Prust I like it. Galchenyuk converted a high number of passes in his first game which could set Gallagher up for some nice chances if form holds. Having Prust on the ice to protect the rookies is a bright idea too.

Yeah buddy. I’m willing to give credit where I think it’s due. It’s really been a mixed bag with Therrien and Bergevin. And my hope is that there’s a method to a lot of the madness, and there’s been a lot of madness early.

Scratching Eller could prove to be a serious mistake though. Most people think it’s a real kick in the butt that’s needed. I’m looking at it this way. Eller understands he was acquired for Halak, has this pressure on him and this will be his second healthy scratch with minimal reasoning. It’s gotta be humiliating. If you humiliate a player you risk losing him. It might be nice for him to have that bounce back game after the humiliation, but you can only screw with his head and emotions so many times before he tunes you out for good.

Eller shouldn’t need a kick in the ass, but Bourque did and so far he has responded.
Eller is 23. It’s time for him to step up his game and get involved, otherwise he’s just another AK46, a player who shows up once in a while.

You said it best. Eller’s 23 and has had the butt kicking before, it didn’t help him find consistency. Perhaps coaches should coach in more way than one when the development of a first round pick is at stake.

How is he supposed to step up his game playing with garbage wingers constantly. Potting 16 goals last yr playing with brutal linemates who were constantly changing.

The kid is consistently and didn’t play worse than Plek or DD by any stretch last game. He’s just the convienient scape goat, and because he’s able to grind has been put in this 3rd line role. Anyone who truly believes DD is a better all around player with a heigher ceiling is losing their mind. Eller and Galchenyuk are the 1-2 center punch of the future this team has always wanted. MTL is way too delusional clinging to Desharnais giving him the 2 best wingers on the team and limiting Plek and Eller in the process.

@ed- No, I am not. This is Eller’s 3rd season and thus far are I hear is about this great potential. Potential, schmotential! Get involved in the bleeping play and stop being a big bystander.

@ steel- The old “garbage wingers” routine, eh? Maybe, if he actually shows up more than a few games per season, he’d get off the 3rd and onto the 2nd line and center “better” wingers.
Oh, btw, Eller was invisible Saturday night. That’s why the coach sat him.

Way to take a compliment. I was stating that this was your best post. How is that bad?
Some of the things different people have stated on here sound very childish of me. You can agree or not.
Personally, I think that critisizing a coach or a team after their very first game of the season borders on childish.

Go Habs Go!!

“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock

The first game is a game and is as open to criticism as the last game. And you’ll have to forgive me for not taking it as a sincere compliment less than a day removed from calling me and others who disagreed with you an eight year old.

And I still feel the same way.
If you can’t see that it’s somewhat normal for the team to struggle in their first game under a new coaching staff and significant change of direction, there’s not much I can do for you, but good luck with all that.

Go Habs Go!!

“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock

And a quick ps….if you can’t see that Francis Bouillon and Josh Gorges shouldn’t be used regularly on a Powerplay unless the circumstances are extreme, I can’t help ya. And with your attitude, wouldn’t if I could.

Something fairly alarming from the first game is obviously the lack of offense from DD, Max & Cole. They were only able to generate one scoring chance and it was from an Erik Cole screen on a point shot.

Chemistry is obviously more important than normal out of the gate this year.

I believe they’re going to have a hard time generating the offense that they did last season. Not because they had career highs in points but because they will be the primary focus of the opposing teams. They’re going to have to change what they do a little bit. Until everyone is in sync it will be very important in my opinion for Cole and Pacioretty to use their speed on the outside to beat defenders one on one. If they aren’t able to do that I think they’ll struggle significantly and it will be interesting to see how long Therrien keeps that line together if that’s the case.

Another big question will be how does Desharnais respond in a season where he won’t be getting the opposing teams’ weaker lines. This is a huge season for him albeit short but if he can’t respond positively to tougher competition it’ll be interesting to see how Bergevin handles his contract negotiations in the summer.

What mentality is that?
And if you mean “a hopeful fan’s mentality” then, yes, I agree, that’s not an appropriate mental state for a hockey player to be in.

A hockey player should not approach a game that he is playing as though he were watching it on tv. A hockey coach should not approach a game like that either.

And I think that your idea of ‘chemistry’ may be a bit off… ‘chemistry’ is how well players play together, how well they are able to read each others’ intentions on the ice so that they can effectively make plays. I would expect every great line in the NHL to rely on ‘chemistry’.

I don’t ask this as a smart ass, but didn’t most every team in the league last year already realize DD/Max/Cole was our #1 line? I say this as it pertains to the comment of DD no longer getting other teams weaker lines.

Exactly, the way teams are scouted these days, everyone knows who the other teams top line is, who’s hot or who’s cold. They have iPads on the bench now during shootouts to go over the other goalies weakness.

A bit pre-mature don’t you think after one game? Also, are you suggesting our top scoring line wasn’t a focus for other teams last year? You may be right, but you gotta give it more than one (exhibition) game.

My expectations for the Habs are limited this season, but there are three areas I really want to see a big improvement in:

Protecting a lead – We must have led the league in blown leads last year, especially third-period leads. It got to the point where, if we were up a goal going into the third, I couldn’t bring myself to watch. I knew the same script would play itself out: the other team would tie the game and win in OT or a shootout.

Powerplay – Since Bergevin did little to increase our even-strength scoring, we absolutely can’t afford to be near the bottom of the league in this category.

The shootout – But I don’t have much hope here after watching that farcical display at the end of the scrimmage game.

As for tonight, the predictions I see on here are overly optimistic, not to say fantastical. The Panthers will be fired up after their no-show last night, and we usually look like the tired team when we face a team on the second of their back-to-backs. Panthers 3, Habs 1.

Secondary scoring has to come from Pleks, Gionta and Bourque. In fact (until Cole gets going) this is really the Habs #1 line.
The team playing the 2nd game of a two nights in a row usually loses. However, they are playing the no-show Habs.

One thing the Habs appear to do far too often is to give up a very early goal. It seems that they are behind one-nothing on too many occasions, after the first few minutes of play. It is much easier to play when you hold the lead rather than being down a goal early.

The Canadiens finished last, that would be last, in the East the past season season. For much of the season they fought with Columbus for last overall, then Columbus and Edmonton went for it. They fired the coach without a replacement, other than an assistant, then savaged him. They fired the GM before the end of the season, without a replacement. They traded a player while he was on the ice because he said the attitude was poor and did not promote winning.

There is absolutely no where to go on the ice except up with this team. Unfortunately they are more of a media event than a sports team so a climb in the standings is not really necessary to enhance profit.

I feel that having a show like that following the habs now is a terrible Idea, but at least its on a short season and not 82 games i guess. Either way its a distraction that is really not needed for the Habs

He posted it yesterday (so old news) but EKLUND (i know i know) is reporting that there may be a deal in the works ( he says he’s checking) 6yrs 4 mill/per for you know who(insert your own hashatg here). WTF is a hashtag anyways?

Would be nice. Sign him. Have a sit down with the whole team(GM everybody). Set things straight. Shake hands/group hug etc. Heck I can sit at the same table as my in-laws how. How hard is it to put aside picayune peccadilloes and go out and bust Bruins/Leafs/Flyers arsses this shortened season.

And 6yrs 4 mill per sounds great for habs fans I think. If things go well we have a good player for a long time… if things go bad not an untradeable cap hit.

I dont really care if we win or lose this season. I just want non-last year hockey and no more frat-house kitchenette -like drama.

The way I see it, it’s only because they have 5 games to see what Gallagher can do, so they need to choose a game or 2 to get him into. There’s no way Plekanec or Desharnais are sitting, so Eller sits.
Why, oh why is that such a big deal here?

Go Habs Go!!

“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock

Technically the 5 games is for Galchenyuk isn’t it? Gallagher can be sent back and forth to Hamilton as he is already on his pro contract in the AHL.

But I agree with the gist of your comment. MT is using these first games to see what he has. After a week or so however, this training camp is over and he needs to start settling on decisions and allow the lines to develop. IMO.

I think you have to look at it this way. It is important that Galchenyuk be shown to be a good pick, that means giving him a chance on paper. Now if they sit Galchenyuk it isn’t a chance, on paper or in reality. DD? Not a chance of sitting him out. The media would be all over Therrien. Gallagher can play as many games as they like, or not. So Eller sits even though he outplayed Pleks and DD. More political than strategy.

Oh, that’s true about Gallagher…sorry. Chances are they only want to see what he can do for a few games anyway. If he doesn’t play lights out, he’ll head back to Hamilton and Eller will play.
As far as Eller outplaying DD, do you really think any coach with even just an once of brains would split up his best line of last season because their first game wasn’t great?

Go Habs Go!!

“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock

For DD to do anything he needs Cole and MaxPac to start fast. That doesn’t always happen with Cole. Therrien is under more pressure than I can imagine right now. He and his buddies on the AC had all the answers last year, now he is in a position to implement them. I really think that if they go three games without chemistry on that line, and winless, you will see a coach not in his right mind.

Therrien is a bum that says it all. Ummm were you not watching every game last yr on RDS? I know there’s some additions but clearly you could see where the issues are. Lack of scoring past the 1st line…maybe break it up? Under utilized young C (Eller) ya let’s bench him for no reason..

It’s ok to put Therrien’s most recent comments up against the backdrop of his past proclamations on the team, his job on RDS and especially the statements he made when he took this job.

The question you ask, “I wonder if there is a difference in watching the team on TV and being behind the bench or in the dressing room? ” could be applied to Therrien’s previous perspective too and therefore his preparation for the job.

Have to admit, I don’t think Therrien is choosing his words carefully so far. I can understand line juggling players in and out of lineup to start the season, but he did have 4 months to memorize the players every move from last years horror show.

OMFG…can’t believe this place.
I’m sure since you watched the games, you know everything there is to know about the team. You can’t possibly learn anything about the players by actually meeting & talking to them.
There’s a small difference between watching a team play and coaching them.
Don’t quit your day job.

Go Habs Go!!

“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock

So are there any fans left after we lost our first game by a goal the other night? It was a frustrating night and it’s very frustrating when you get your hopes up for a win tonight and then remember that our most energetic, and arguably best player, is sitting at home unsigned.

A five-year-old could look at this team and tell you our chances of making the playoffs went from slim to almost none when it was discovered that Subban would be sitting, without a deal, for an undetermined amount of time.

However, the Habs should come out with a bee in their bonnets tonight because I’m sure they don’t want anything to do with what they went through last season.

It was nice to see Markov lead the team in ice time the other night and hopefully he and Emelin, his defense partner in practice, along with Gorges and Diaz can hold their own tonight.

I think you’ll see a good game from Cole and Pacioretty and Prust is going to do what he can to get the gang charged up with some early aggressiveness. Florida did play last night so hopefully we can capitalize on that.

As we saw last night, the Sabres ran out of gas against the Leafs in the 3rd after playing the night before so hopefully the same holds true for the Panthers tonight? Thanks to Miller the Sabres held on for the win but we’ll be dealing with Theodore or Clemmenson.

Unfortunately, Therrien wasn’t making any excuses when he said Saturday night was the first time he saw his team in action. He had zero exhibition games to work with. It might take a few weeks for him to get a handle on things so hopefully the team can hang on until that happens and also hang on until Subban is signed!

Morning Hobie. Granted it was only one game and none of us should be jumping off a cliff as yet, but it did resemble a lot of what we saw last season, didn’t it? I have no idea what the offer/asking price that is on the table with PK but no one can argue he wouldn’t help.
We were promised a more uptempo, hard to play against team. We got neither opening night. I wonder if we’ll see something different tonight? I sure hope so.

Love this post! As I wrote above, just give me something that doesnt resemble lastyear and I will be happy. Wins and Losses will take care of themselves if we play good exciting ‘one for all-for-one’ hockey.

Ya right.
People say they want aggressive, offensive hockey, but if we play that way and lose, everyone will say the coach has to change strategies to make us win.
Fans are never happy unless the Habs win…unless they are in the “tank” crowd. A crowd which I will never be a part of.

Go Habs Go!!

“Fans are great, but the quickest way to start losing is to listen to them.” – Sam Pollock

I would love to know why he was removed, last time i checked we do live in Canada, I mean I am sure it was a distraction but hey this is a free country, pretty disturbing if he got thrown out for making himself up to look like the coach.

So you are only one sided and just follow the Habs?
You don’t follow other players but if there is a trade we make, you’ll hurray to find stats on the player??
You must be
A. From Montreal
or
B. A fan with some French blood in them (most are Habs fans)

In summary, you don’t know hockey and just follow the team and not the progress of the other teams how they will fare.
Just say thank you for once…..it goes a long way.

I have nothing to thank you for. Once again, what purpose could that possibly serve me?

A. I am from Montreal. I fail to see what that could possibly mean, apart from perhaps fortifying some hairbrained, ignorant preconceived notion you’ve developed in the airless bunker that is your mind

B. This is a borderline racist comment, and one that has no place in this forum.

In summary, you are a racist ignoramus whose barely-literate scrawlings on here are a waste of the infinite capacity of the internet.

Another pseudo-reality show. Wonderful. Like the team doesn’t have enough distractions.
I know! Lets have the ladies of Chez Paree dance around the dressing room in between periods. It’s not like the players need to focus or anything. It’s all about the media, right?